The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has stated that the over N1 trillion that would be saved from the withdrawal of electricity subsidy will be reinvested in improving power supply and providing social services for the country.

Idris made these remarks in Kaduna on Saturday as a guest on the popular Hausa audience participatory program of Radio Nigeria Kaduna called ‘Hannu Da Yawa’.

He highlighted that the disproportionate amount of electricity subsidy, approximately 40%, benefits only about 15% of the electricity consumer population, comprising affluent individuals and industrial clusters, who enjoy about 20 hours of electricity.

“It is essential to emphasize that the funds saved from the withdrawal of electricity subsidy will be reinvested in enhancing power supply across the country and improving other vital social services such as health and education,” the Minister said.

Furthermore, Idris explained that 85% of the population who falls under the different categorizations of the new electricity supply regime still enjoys the subsidy.

He also mentioned that the new Electricity Act, signed by President Tinubu, has strengthened the governance structure of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), empowering the Commission to impose severe sanctions on electricity distribution companies for infractions relating to billings and supply of electricity to consumers.

Regarding post-fuel subsidy intervention programs, Idris noted that the supply of N100 billion worth of CNG buses is still on track as the specification of the buses is not bought off the shelf.

The Minister stated that the government would soon launch CNG conversion centers across the country to encourage Nigerians to convert their vehicles from fuel consumption to CNG to reduce the cost of transportation.

He also mentioned that the Committee set up by the President to review the operational mechanism of the National Social Investment Programme has submitted its report to pave the way for the resumption of the programs. These programs will provide N25, 000 Conditional Cash Transfers to 15 million poor and vulnerable households for three months among other interventions.

Idris used the platform to dispel the notion in some quarters that the Tinubu Administration is out to shortchange the northern part of the country, stressing that the Federal Government would continue to invest funds in the development of projects in the north.

On agriculture, the Minister said the Federal Government has expanded the cultivation of wheat, rice, cassava, and maize under the Dry Season Farming Initiative on about 500,000 hectares of farmland.

“The President has mandated us to go out and feel the pulse of the nation and report back to him. We were in Dutse, Auyo, and Hadejia and interacted with the farmers about the successes of the dry season farming in those areas,” he said.

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